November 06 Update

Dear Supporters,

Psalm 94:18-19 “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”

This passage has been of great encouragement to me lately. It is good to know that when tough times come, he is there to keep us from falling. He even knows our thoughts and can comfort us. As you can see above, falling can be a very bad thing when rappelling. Rappelling is analogous to missions/ministry. There is a lot of faith and trust that must be built. I was able to spend some time outdoors while training in Colorado. My journey in Ethiopia no doubt will be a testimony of God’s faithfulness in keeping me from falling. In fact, his faithfulness has already been made manifest in my journey. In March, I randomly and hesitantly stipulated October 31st as my date to have all my support. I am excited to declare that he provided over 100% of my need before that date!

I have bought my one-way plane ticket to Africa and will be leaving Memphis on Saturday morning December 2nd. I am not excited about saying goodbye to people, but it helps that my commitment is only short-term. It is important that my monthly supporters begin sending in gifts in December if they are not giving through automatic deduction.

My training in Colorado has been very fruitful in preparing me for the field. We have discussed many in depth issues that missionaries go through such as conflict resolution, personal soul care, and the importance of keeping the Sabbath. Honestly, I romanticized missions when I made my commitment. This training has been like a painful shot in the arm and has sobered me to what I have committed to. But hopefully with that shot will come very important preventative immunity or awareness to what is to come. I am on the boat towards Normandy, but I have now been given armor and a gun. I have found the training helpful for Ethiopia as well as my life in ministry.

The plan at this point is for me to spend most of December assimilating and settling into the culture and meeting my team members. Then, in January, I will do language school in the morning, and in the afternoon I will learn my place in the ministry and meet the beneficiaries. I am very excited to serve all the many needs the team and patients have. My team leader has informed me that I will have a cell phone there so the team can keep in touch throughout the city during the workday. I will give you that number in my next update. You can buy cheap calling cards on www.noblecom.com.

It is scary to think that I am about to leave. The Lord will do amazing things in my life to prepare me for seminary and a life of service as well as enriching the lives of those hurting in Addis. Thanks for making this happen. My next email will be from Africa!

Prayer requests

1. Ability to say a temporary goodbye to people while feeling a sustained call to do this work.
2. Safety in flying home from Colorado on November 17th and flying to Ethiopia on December 2nd.
3. That the Lord would bring together all the details (shots, packing, visa/passports) that need to come together before I leave. It can be stressful.
4. That the Lord would prepare the team and the work in Ethiopia for me, so that I would be less of a hindrance and more of a help to all involved.
5. That I would adjust quickly to my new environment so I would be able to begin serving quickly.
6. That I would have “elastic” relationships with my friendships that won’t fracture while I’m gone.
7. I am still somewhat grieving the loss of my college friendships. I would appreciate prayers for how to move through that process.

In Him,

Jim Plunk
Missionary to Ethiopia